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Eastern Screech Owls are Very Flexible

Eastern screech owl photo featuring words: I'm Very Flexible

Eastern screech owls are not picky

When it comes to habitat, nesting and diet, these owls adapt to what they find:

diagram showing screech owls can rotate their heads 270 degrees
  • Habitat: In their range, screech owls can live anywhere with trees—including farmland edges, suburbs and city parks
  • Nesting: They nest in existing cavities and don’t excavate further or add any nesting materials. They readily nest in tree openings formed by other animals, nest boxes and even the occasional mailbox.
  • Diet: Screech owls eat almost any kind of small animal, including many types of mammals, birds, insects, reptiles and amphibians. If they can catch it, they’ll eat it.

Support for Bird the Preserves was generously provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through Chicago Wilderness.

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